When it comes to exercise, let’s keep it simple!

It’s Friday! Change This Week continues with our commitments and segments on exercise. Today we have another guest blogger who is a fantastic entrepreneur, personal trainer and nutritionist. I know because he has personally kicked my butt to do my best. Let me introduce you to Harut Tovmasyan.

As technology advances, we are seeing an increase in the conveniences seen in today’s society. While these results are seen as positive, there are some negatives; mainly – laziness. We drive more often than we do walk or run. Televisions are remote control operated. When our remote control dies, smart phones and tablets have an app that is compatible to your TV/DVD/Blu-Ray so you don’t miss a second of what you’re watching. Escalators, elevators, and segways allow you to not have to worry about lifting a foot to go from Point A to Point B. All these and a number of other inventions are created in order to make things simpler for everyday life and as much as I love how easy life has become, I can’t help but think how damaging it can actually be to the health of our society.

For one, we generate less movement, a key element to neural health (connecting your brain and body). Think of it like this, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” The human body is designed to move, labor, and perform, but we limit ourselves because something is too difficult or inconvenient. You know the excuses, “I’m not in the mood to do this,” “I don’t want to go there,” “The gym is too far away,” or whatever your reasoning. Start simple and don’t spend your time thinking you’ve got to do the most intense workout EVER. Go for walks which could lead to jogging, then running, or swimming. However you want to progress from the first step is up to you. There isn’t a cookie cutter answer for everything, everyone is different and has different likes and goals. Try and remember that when you see people moving or working out, there is a reason to why they are doing it (at least there should be). Don’t pay attention to how fast someone lost weight, how “fit” that guy or girl at the gym looks, or follow these crazy 20-30 day diets or intense work out programs. First of all, the incidences of injury can be very high because the program may not be specific to each individual (health history, levels of fitness, previous injuries). Secondly, a majority of the diets out there that help people lose weight are mainly carb depletion and water weight loss and while the results may be great, they are not long lasting. The rebound effect from these programs can be greater than you think; putting the weight back on once you stop the program and back into your routine. So do something that will make your program enjoyable.

Make it a lifestyle change and start easy. Create your goal for the week or month and make it realistic, but make sure that the goal is SMART. What does that mean? Your goals should be specific to you, measurable on the scale, measuring tape, or clothes, something that is attainable. An example of this is dropping down a pant size or just feeling healthy and fit again. Make sure you are staying realistic, don’t expect to lose 50lbs in 1 month (1-2lbs of fat per week is healthy weight loss), and timely. Give yourself a timeframe to achieve these goals. At times it may seem difficult, but once you achieve it you will generate motivation for more challenging goals. As for nutrition, keep it simple: fruits, veggies, protein, and healthy fats. The less processed food, the faster the results (hint: if you can’t pronounce the name on the ingredients list, it’s probably processed). So the main idea for this week’s Change of the Week is this:keep it simple, get out and move.